emptiness

emp·ty  (mpt)

adj. emp·ti·er, emp·ti·est

1.

a. Holding or containing nothing.

b. Mathematics Having no elements or members; null: an empty set.

2. Having no occupants or inhabitants; vacant: an empty chair; empty desert.

3. Lacking force or power: an empty threat.

4. Lacking purpose or substance; meaningless: an empty life.

5. Not put to use; idle: empty hours.

6. Needing nourishment; hungry: "More fierce and more inexorable far/Than empty tigers or the roaring sea" (Shakespeare).

7. Devoid; destitute: empty of pity.

v. emp·tied, emp·ty·ing, emp·ties

v.tr.

1. To remove the contents of: emptied the dishwasher.

2. To transfer or pour off completely: empty the ashes into a pail.

3. To unburden; relieve: empty oneself of doubt.

v.intr.

1. To become empty: The theater emptied after the performance.

2. To discharge its contents: The river empties into a bay.

n. pl. emp·ties Informal

An empty container.

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[Middle English, from Old English mtig, vacant, unoccupied, from metta, leisure; see med- in Indo-European roots.]

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empti·ly adv.

empti·ness n.

Synonyms: empty, vacant, blank, void, vacuous, bare¹, barren
These adjectives mean without contents that could or should be present. Empty applies to what is wholly lacking contents or substance: an empty room; empty promises.
Vacant refers to what is without an occupant or incumbent, or to what is without intelligence or thought: a vacant auditorium; a vacant stare.
Blank stresses the absence of something, especially on a surface, that would convey meaning or content: blank pages.
Void applies to what is free from or completely destitute of discernible content: gibberish void of all meaning.
Vacuous describes what is as devoid of substance as a vacuum is: led a vacuous life.
Something that is bare lacks surface covering (a bare head) or detail (the bare facts); the word also denotes the condition of being stripped of contents or furnishings: a bare closet.
Barren literally and figuratively stresses lack of productivity: barren land; writing barren of insight. See Also Synonyms at vain.

Word History: In Old English Ic eom mtig could mean "I am empty," "I am unoccupied," or "I am unmarried." The sense "unoccupied, at leisure," which did not survive Old English, points to the derivation of mtig from the Old English word metta, "leisure, rest." The word metta may in turn go back to the Germanic root *mt-, meaning "ability, leisure." In any case, Old English mtig also meant "vacant," a sense that was destined to take over the meaning of the word. Empty, the Modern English descendant of Old English mtig, has come to have the sense "idle," so that one can speak of empty leisure.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	emptiness - the state of containing nothing condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations" blankness - the state of being blank; void; emptiness hollowness - the state of being hollow: having an empty space within vacancy - being unoccupied vacuity, vacuum - the absence of matter fullness - the condition of being filled to capacity
	2.	emptiness - having an empty stomach hunger, hungriness - a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
	3.	emptiness - an empty area or space; "the huge desert voids"; "the emptiness of outer space"; "without their support he'll be ruling in a vacuum" vacancy, vacuum, void space - an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things); "the architect left space in front of the building"; "they stopped at an open space in the jungle"; "the space between his teeth"
	4.	emptiness - the quality of being valueless or futile; "he rejected the vanities of the world" vanity worthlessness, ineptitude - having no qualities that would render it valuable or useful; "the drill sergeant's intent was to convince all the recruits of their worthlessness"

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emptiness

noun 1. futility, banality, worthlessness, hollowness, pointlessness, meaninglessness, barrenness, senselessness, aimlessness, purposelessness, unsatisfactoriness, valuelessness

2. meaninglessness, vanity, banality, frivolity, idleness, unreality, silliness, triviality, ineffectiveness, cheapness, insincerity, worthlessness, hollowness, inanity, unsubstantiality, trivialness, vainness

3. void, gap, vacuum, empty space, nothingness, blank space, free space, vacuity

noun 4. bareness, waste, desolation, destitution, blankness, barrenness, desertedness, vacantness

noun 5. blankness, vacancy, vacuity, impassivity, vacuousness, expressionlessness, stoniness, unintelligence, absentness, vacantness

Translations

emptiness [ˈɛmptɪnɪs] n → vacío

emptiness [ˈɛmptɪnɪs] n → vide m [of area]; aspect m désertique

emptiness [ˈɛmptɪnɪs] n → Leere f

emptiness [ˈɛmptɪnɪs] n → vuoto